1. Field of the Invention
The invention claimed in the present patent application generally relates to an antivirus system and method in a network and, more particularly, to an antivirus virtual scanning processor with plug-in functionalities and methods therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Internet is an ideal mass medium for the spread of computer viruses since virtually every computer needs to be connected to another computer or network either directly or indirectly. The Internet, with all its benefits and fascinations, is nonetheless an effective and efficient medium for an intentional spread of malicious code attack. It has been estimated that some fast-paced viruses can spread throughout the entire Internet within a matter of a couple of hours if not effectively stopped. For any network environment, be it the Internet, a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN) or even wireless communications networks for mobile phones and personal digital assistant (PDA) devices, the more data transmitted and the more services offered, the more likely viruses are able to infect those networks.
In countering the increasing variety of computer viruses, antivirus scanning modules need to be continuously updated or replaced. In adding new antivirus functions, an upgrade or replacement of revised version of code is generally required in the antivirus scanning module itself. Such replacement or upgrade involves burdensome and time-consuming efforts, where new scanning module proofing is tedious. Moreover, redeployment of new scanning module will result in service interruption since it generally requires restart of antivirus service. Scanning module updates for different hardware of computer or network systems requires individual and separate implementation, e.g., over a multitude of microprocessors such as MIPS or Intel™ x86 processors.
There is thus a general need in the art for an optimal antivirus system and method that overcome at least the aforementioned shortcomings in the art. In particular, a need exists in the art for an optimal antivirus system and method having an antivirus virtual scanning processor with plug-in functionalities.